Plain and Showy

Walking along the edge of a vineyard while trying to sneak up on the eagles to see if we could get a peek at the youngsters or see if they had flown the proverbial coop, Baloo and I were charmed by a virtuoso songster and mimic. 

I have always loved the brown thrasher and I know to look for one when I start to hear every local bird song in rapid succession. This plain brown bird makes up for his unassuming appearance (though, I think he's quite handsome with his speckled waistcoat) by being one of the most talented musicians on the program. 

This fellow was doing a little preening between songs and it was fun to watch the feather ruffling. Or maybe he was just being the maestro straightening his coat and tails. 

Finally, he was all spiffed up and ready to launch into the air to find another stage for his next grand musical engagement. 

So, keep your ears open for a cardinal song followed by a robin song followed by a chickadee song and so forth (but not necessarily in any particular sequence) and you may just get to enjoy a well-sung and extremely varied concert - and it doesn't even require a ticket.  

More of the Pieces

No, I hadn't forgotten the puzzle I left hanging. I just had to step back for a while and decide some things. Things like whether or not I was going to try and resurrect the Stampeaz site or just let it go. 

This particular puzzle is of the type that is more difficult to do if you focus on the subject matter rather than the background. It's a fitting metaphor.

So, now that I have looked at the big picture and studied how the background might work, I'm starting to look more closely at how all the pieces are going to come together to form something that's worth looking at. 

Thanks to everyone for your patience and support while I worked through the decision of whether to start over again. Many thanks to those who offered suggestions and help of one kind or another. Now, since I have decided to try and put the pieces back together, I'll ask that you bear with the process just a little longer as I work through starting from the very beginning (again - my first try didn't work). It's a daunting task, but now that I've gotten over the angst of the crash, I'm ready to keep on sorting the bits and pieces and get this puzzle finished! 

Also, I want to apologize -- some of you have left comments for me on earlier posts and I honestly didn't know about them until just a couple minutes ago. I used to get notified when someone had made a comment, but now some of them seem to get hidden in a moderation limbo land until I release them. I didn't change any settings or intentionally ignore anyone - I just didn't know anyone had said anything. Thanks for commenting and checking in on the blog -- I appreciate it! And now I know where to go look for them! :)

Time Lapse Photography

Back in early May, Baloo and I decided against going out on one of our regular walking routes in order to avoid an uncharacteristically large number of visitors to our usually solitary (or nearly so) trail. 

Our adventurous (and crowd-avoiding) spirit was rewarded when we saw a nesting eagle. 

There used to be another nest not far from this one, so I'm guessing it's the same pair that built a new home in a slightly more attractive neighborhood - or more secure tree. 

 

I kept trying to sneak a little closer, and while she kept a close eye on us, she didn't seem too worried about us admiring her in her aerie. Of course, we kept a reasonable distance, since we didn't want to disturb her. 

Late in May, I took Baloo back for another look and saw these two youngsters (sorry for the blurry photo - it was the best I could manage from afar with a restive dog at the other end of the leash). They were peering out at the great, wide world with avid interest - and probably waiting for their parents to get back with some tasty tidbits.  

By the end of June they looked like fledglings about ready to leave the security of their home to try their luck at searching for their own snack materials. 

Since then, I've seen the adults flying in the vicinity,  but I haven't seen the youngsters on the wing yet.It's a favorite walking area, so I hope we have the opportunity to see them attempting their early hunts. 

Here be Dragons... and a Damsel

That almost sounds like a plot for a fairy tale, doesn't it? But I'm not talking about the fire-breathing, treasure-hoarding, cave-dwelling creatures of myth and our damsel for the day is in no distress at all and to further set the story on its head, our damsel is a male!

So, they may not be true dragons, but they are seriously dragon-ish as far as the mosquitoes and other biting flies are concerned. Mosquitoes always seem to get a head start on the season, but I remember cheering the dragonflies on when they arrived on the scene in late spring, swooping and executing aerial ambushes and eating the pesky little blighters by the dozens, all without touching down. They're still a very welcome sight to me, not just for their voracious appetites, but because they come in so many kinds, colors, shapes and sizes and their delicate wings are so intricate and beautiful. 

I had to do quite a lot of hunting and research to learn who these guys are. Never having learned more than the basic differences between dragonflies and damselflies, I hadn't learned the names of the different specimens - mostly because I didn't have an insect identification book and also because they move so amazingly fast - up to 18 miles per hour, from what I've read. 

So, since I read up on these fascinating creatures and was impressed at their prowess, I'm inflicting a few fun facts on you. This fellow is a chalk-fronted corporal dragonfly, aptly named for the chalky smudges on his otherwise slate black abdomen and thorax. He's got almost 360 degrees of vision and can see so much more of the light spectrum than humans that I can't even imagine what the world must look like to him. So, yes, eyes in the back of his head (and sides and front). 

This one's the chalk-fronted corporal female. She's more of a tawny gold with black markings. She, along with her other dragonfly kin, can move each of her four wings independently, allowing her to fly in any direction and hover in place. No wonder they're such incredible hunters, with  a 95% success rate. 

Finally, here is our damsel for the day. He's a familiar bluet damselfly and if you haven't ever paid attention to the differences between the dragons and the damsels, you can see here that this fellow folds his wings together over his back when at rest, rather than out flat like his cousins. He also has a much thinner abdomen and his wings are narrower at the base than at the tips, which is opposite of how dragonfly wings are constructed. The familiar bluet female has very similar markings, but her predominant color is brown rather than blue. I didn't see one of those on my ramble, so I can't produce a picture to illustrate. 

Here ends our tale of dragons and damsels for the day. I hope you enjoyed the adventure.

Equine Offspring

When I take Baloo for walks in the woods to the north of our house, we pass several places where horses, mules, goats and burros (and even some really big dogs) reside. Seeing them grazing, cavorting or even just laying around out in the fields is always a pleasure. 

This year, there are several new denizens of the various paddocks along our way. 

The place that has the really big dogs (Great Pyrenees, I think) also has a number of horses, both standard and miniature varieties. Two of the full-sized mares have had foals this year and they're beautiful little beasts. I occasionally see them frisking around together, but they never stray far from their dams. 

There's another place we pass along our route, though, and it has a herd of burros. I have to admit that my favorite of the equine youngsters this year might be the baby burro. This is the first year I have seen a baby among them and it's just such a little cutie. Sometimes, it's completely sacked out in the burro-sized sand pit, while its mom and the rest of the herd munch peacefully around it. 

Simply Red

The last post was all about black and white. This one is all about seriously dazzling color. 

One usually finds big, beautiful, eye-popping poppies like these carefully tended in someone's garden, but these brave blossoms were out in the middle of a field of weeds, grasses and wildflowers. 

The seeds must have had an interesting journey to end up so far from where they started.

I particularly love the way this one is just emerging from its protective sepal, looking all rumpled like tissue paper. It looks a little like it's wearing earmuffs - or headphones. I wonder what its favorite music is... 

The incredible intensity of the scarlet illuminated by the morning sun made for some outstanding iridescent eye candy. They were positively glowing. 

A Study in Black and White... and Gold

Sometimes, while out walking with Baloo, I find lots of colorful things to admire. Other times, it's the things that aren't quite so colorful that catch the eye.  Today, I enjoyed black, white and gold-ish. 

I introduced myself to a new moth - and odd moth, since it looks more like a butterfly and flies primarily during the day, sipping nectar from flowers and acting for all the world like a butterfly. It's antlers even look butterfly-like, with the slight thickening at the end, but a close inspection reveals the more feathery construction of moth antlers.

I had to hunt around in my moth and butterfly books to discover the name for this winged fellow, but I was finally able to identify it as an eight-spotted forester moth. It has the obvious eight white spots that gave it its name, but it also has two lovely cream colored shoulder pads (not the technical name, which I learned is, "tegulae"). The other feature that really sets this little creature off is the furry golden-orange knee pads that look something like the pollen baskets on bees, though they don't serve any particular function that I could discover. 

Okay, so the humble daisy doesn't really have any black on it, but it does sport the beautiful golden center and gray shadowing in the sunlight. I thought it should qualify for today's theme. Daisies are starting to come into their own, blooming in profusion along trails and out in the fields where we walk.

Finally, I caught Baloo looking as if he was posing in a shaft of golden sunlight as the noble beast in a high-class photography session. He is the perfect specimen of  "American Black Dog with White Spot" (and a growing number of white muzzle hairs, I fear). His golden eyes and yellow collar also fit our excursion theme for the day. He isn't really being noble and cooperative -- he is being mesmerized by a red squirrel up in a tree branch over his head, which explains the completely transfixed expression on his face and the fact that he sat still for the picture.